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FLIGHTS

Zenvoyage Vietnam will assist you if necessary in your search for tickets for your international flight (departure from Paris or from the provinces). We work with a partner agency in France on safe and reliable regular airlines such as Air France or Vietnam airlines.

If not, here are some tips for choosing the right airlines for a trip to Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia!

To start and find timetables and prices, the internet is a very good way. Different sites exist and there are many. For example, the www.voyages-sncf.com site is very popular in France for finding flights. This will give you a first idea of the prices and the possible options. You can also go to the websites of each company to study current promotions, but you rarely find price differences. If you can, be a little flexible about your dates as it can sometimes be very advantageous to leave or come back in the middle of the week instead of a weekend. This is the first thing to do, determine your travel period, its duration and your flexibilities if you have any. This information will allow you to make your choice more quickly!

Direct or stopover flight?

Two airlines, for example, offer direct flights between France and Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines and Air France, both members of the SkyTeam alliance, so there are shared flights (i.e. Air France flight but Vietnam Airlines plane and vice versa, in general it is specified). Others offer stopovers: like Qatar Airlines with stopover in Doha, Cathay Pacific with stopover in Hong Kong, Thai Airways with stopover in Bangkok and there are probably many more! To go to Cambodia or Laos you can also stop over in Hanoi, for example in the case of Vietnam Airlines.

In the case of a direct flight, you will arrive directly from Paris to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City after approximately 12 hours of flight. The advantage of a direct flight, even if the price can sometimes be a little higher, is to keep the flight time to a minimum and the waits (sometimes long!) At a transit airport. We avoid correspondence and possible problems related to delays which sometimes require you to miss your connection!

It is often the cheaper fare that will make you choose a flight with a stopover. The chosen airline will send you through its local airport from where its other aircraft depart, in particular towards Hanoi or HCM Ville. In this case the flight time is longer. And if there are any delays or misses, the company will do everything to get you to your final destination.

If you have limited time in Vietnam for your vacation prefer a direct flight!

Which airline to choose?

Again, the price will probably guide your choice! For those who allow themselves a slightly higher price on a ticket, do not hesitate to take a look at the services of the companies. It must nevertheless be admitted that services in general are very standardized in all classes of aircraft.

Gulf airlines are nevertheless renowned for better comfort. Thai Airways is also highly rated, notably with a new plane from Paris (replacing an old Boeing 747). Singapore Airline provides a daily A380 flight from Paris, a brand new aircraft and very good service on board! But do not forget, for these companies, the journey time will be longer because a stopover is mandatory. As for Air France and Vietnam Airlines, the flights are direct and the services are equivalent to each other ... These two companies offer Eco Premium classes that are a little more comfortable than the classic Eco. However, don't expect anything much different considering the price. We can underline that the cabins of Air France planes on Vietnam are normally all renovated while Vietnam Airlines planes could review their design.

Flight schedules are also a criterion of choice. You may prefer to travel during the day or at night. The advantage of a daytime flight is that you don't experience the discomfort of a bad night on a plane! When choosing a night flight and if you want to sleep, prefer flights that leave late to make sure you fall asleep after dinner. If you leave at 4 p.m., you won't sleep before midnight, which is half the flight!

The little extra things!

When you do your research, the type of aircraft can be mentioned, it is often a Boeing or an Airbus (this is the make of the aircraft, the same company can have both Boeing and Airbus).

Boeings are generally noisier than Airbus planes and this can be felt over such long distances (earplugs are provided on all planes to reduce noise).

Concerning the devices of the companies, there is a site oninternet which compares the devices of all companies: www.seatguru.com. On this site, find your device and determine what are the best seats on the plane, for example. This site is in English and unfortunately Vietnam Airlines is not yet listed.

The choice of seat on a plane can sometimes be made at the time of booking otherwise you will do so when checking in at the departure airport. Don't worry, overall all seats are good and there are few differences, but a few tips can be helpful if you have a choice:

- Emergency exit places are often attractive for tall people because there is more leg room. They are often taken quickly and some companies offer to reserve it for you for around 50 euros extra. BUT emergency exit spaces also have drawbacks: in general the seat armrest is larger and does not rise, so the seat feels narrower, you are a little tighter. In addition, during the flight people like to move around and go where there is room, ie at exits ... so there may be people around you and it can be annoying. On long haul trips there is usually enough space between seats in Economy Class, so don't be resigned if you don't have an emergency exit.

- You can usually choose to be on the corridor or window side. But when you are in the last to record there is less choice and a lot of places in the middle. The window allows you to look at the landscape but be aware that you will not see much because the flight altitude is high (10-12 km) and it reduces your freedom of movement during the flight. The corridor gives the advantage that you can move around when you want without having to disturb your neighbors. If the company offers it, check in on the internet in advance (approximately 24 hours before flight departure) and choose your seat on the map.

- Avoid finding yourself near the toilets because you will suffer certain inconveniences ... as well as near the places where the flight personnel prepare meals.

- In a Boeing 747 (with deck) try to get an upstairs seat (if it's economy class). You will be more peaceful there.